The Fear of the Lord

A few months ago, I had a dream about the Fear of The Lord. In the dream, The Lord said he was going to teach me about his “Aweness” (I know, not a word) but it is the closest word I could come up with when it happened.

I was standing in a park with a lot of people around; they were all going about their activities– playing in the park with their children, a couple were sitting on the green grass chatting. It was a beautiful sunny day– I could see clouds scattered across the sky, and warm gentle breeze was blowing.

I felt The Lord prompt me to look in the direction of the Sun. As I turned my head in its direction, I heard a voice say, “The Awe of God!” Suddenly, the Sun began to make its way into the earth’s atmosphere. As it moved closer toward me, I began to scream, “Oh my God, oh my God!” It was then I noticed the Sun getting smaller– everything else remained the same– yet the sun scaled down until it could fit into the palm of my hand. Despite its small size, the Sun retained its brightness and energy. God held it there for but a moment, then, as quickly as it happened, he reversed the whole process and the Sun went back to its original position. While pondering what had just happened, I unknowingly uttered the word “awe,” in a voice of shock. Immediately, the Lord said, “Exactly. The Awe of God.”

“Now that you have experienced it, I’m going to teach my people the fear of the Lord.” A foreboding sensation crept up in me. I told the people in the park to get indoors as quick as possible. Calm, yet determined, I directed the people into a nearby house. One by one they filed indoors, unaware of what was about to take place. “The fear of the Lord was coming,” I thought to myself. “We need to be inside when it arrives.” Some of the people slowed down and once again the sense of foreboding resonated within me. “Quickly!” I bellowed. My wife and I were the last to enter the house. I told the people to pull down the shades and stay away from the windows. The people began to sense something was about to take place– the apprehension was evident in their faces.

I told them, “You are about to experience the fear of the Lord– but because you are inside this house you will not experience the full impact of it, only a portion. Those outside will experience the fullness of it.” The sense of foreboding seemingly reached its peak where even the people reacted to its presence. I could only imagine what was happening outside. “Behold,” I whispered. “The fear of the Lord.”